


i know you

by mxgicxltrxgedy



Series: Small Town Newsies High School AU [3]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coming Out, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Southern small town high school au, Trans Jack Kelly, all can be read by themselves but share continuity so yeah, small town high school au, stand alone but exists in a universe of mine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mxgicxltrxgedy/pseuds/mxgicxltrxgedy
Summary: David knows all about Jack, and is ready to make his move. Jack knows that Davey doesn't know everything yet."Now, are you still afraid of starting something, or am I allowed to kiss you again?”
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Series: Small Town Newsies High School AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1743565
Comments: 5
Kudos: 57





	i know you

The silence was really tense. It was really charged, and really uncomfortable, and David didn’t know what to do with it. He and Jack were just sitting on Jack’s porch, talking and enjoying the wind outside with the concrete under them and their feet in the yard. They had just finished having supper at Medda’s and letting it digest before David had to leave to pick Sarah up from her shift at the mall. But of course, David had to go and ruin the good night by leaning over and kissing Jack on the lips.

It wasn’t a long kiss by any means, and David didn’t  _ think _ he came on too strong, or too rough, or too fast, but Jack had pulled away  _ so _ quickly. He even scooted a little away from David, although it looked like he was trying to hide it. They hadn’t spoken since, and neither of them had moved.

David was so sure that Jack liked him. He had been feeling it for the past couple of months. He didn’t know how to explain it, he just  _ knew.  _ So, he tried to shoot his shot. When Jack said something funny and David got the urge to kiss him, he just didn’t restrain himself. Now they were still sitting, but the air around them was not open and calm but unknowable and taut.

Jack coughed, and David shot his head up with a desperation he didn’t want to show he had. Yeah, he thought that Jack liked him, but he really liked Jack. If it were a rejection, David wouldn’t know what to do.

Jack resituated himself a little to sit up a little straighter, “I don’t want you getting the wrong idea.”

David nodded, tight lipped. He hadn’t prepared himself for a rejection, but he had the feeling he was going to hear it from his best friend either way.

“I like you, Davey.” David was nodding to himself, like he was ready to accept it. Jack didn’t want to date him- then his brain caught up with what Jack said.

“You like me?” Jack nodded. David was confused. ‘Like’ can mean a lot of things. “Do you mean in like a bro way or in a boyfriend way, because that can mean two different things-”

“The ‘I wanna kiss you’ way.” 

David’s heart stopped and he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t misread anything, and the guy he liked liked him back. 

But Jack pulled away from the kiss, from David.

With a look at David and his furrowed brows, Jack continued. “I like you, Davey, but I don’t wanna start somethin’ without you knowin’ me first.”

Okay, now David was even more confused. “Jack, I do know you.”

Jack shook his head. Davey  _ didn’t  _ know everything, and Jack knew he needed to tell him. Jack wished he didn’t have to get into anything, and that he could just kiss Davey without having to think about it and stress out. However, the need to say what he was thinking outweighed all that. “You think you do, but you don’t.”

Davey turned his knees more so that he was facing Jack. “What don’t I know?”

Jack was silent, because it was hard to come outright and say it, but it needed to be said. He wasn’t sure how Davey would react, he hoped it would be okay, but he could never be sure.

“I know that you really love to paint. I get to watch you every day in art class. It’s the one part about school I think you actually enjoy.”

Jack’s stare at Davey loosened a little. It was true, Davey sat right next to him in art class and got to watch all of first period as Jack mixed paints and painted. Davey was only in the class to satisfy his fine arts credit, and Jack was there because he wanted to take the class. Most of the time, the art teacher let the students choose whatever medium they wanted as long as the assignment was completed, and every time Jack went to the back room where the paints were kept. 

“I know that orange is your favorite color. It’s the color of the friendship bracelet Mush gave you, and the color of your school binder. And each time I offer you one of the cups at my house, you always choose my Dad’s old University of Tennessee cup.”

Jack glanced at the friendship bracelet around his wrist. Mush had made him, Specs and Crutchie each friendship bracelets of their respective favorite colors. They all were made with regular embroidery thread, but each person had a little bead with their initial on the end. Jack’s had been wearing it on his left wrist for over a year now. He never told Davey why the bracelet was orange, or that even  _ what _ his favorite color was; he just knew.

“I know that you do your homework at school, and you don’t have anything to do in your room really. So, you stay after school with Specs to watch him at track practice. Or, you come bother me at work mooching off our free bread sticks.”

Jack let out a little laugh. Davey worked at the local Fazoli’s. He mostly worked in whatever position was open that day, but most days he would go around the dining area with bread sticks, making sure each patron had enough. Jack would normally order a diet coke and a pepperoni slider and sit there until he had to be home for dinner. Davey would come around and talk with him for a few minutes, and he would take his breaks with Jack and they’d hangout. Jack didn't ever tell Davey that he did it because he got bored at home too easily (which was only a half-truth for Davey’s end. Half the reason was because he didn’t want to go home, and the other half was because he wanted to stay with  _ Davey _ and hang out with Jack and take his lunch break with him). 

Maybe Davey did notice a lot about him. Davey was always watchful, at least since Jack had known him. Davey was observing and he knew when Crutchie’s leg was hurting or when JoJo was struggling with an essay for English. Jack noticed that about him and was part of the reason he liked him. He looked out for others just like Jack did.

“I know you wanna go visit where you were born.”

That was probably the one thing he had explicitly told Davey. It was one night after hanging out at Finch’s house. It was a small house and Finch’s big room was packed like sardines. Jack and Davey had taken a step out while Davey answered a call from his mom and Jack followed him out for the air. They ended up staying on the back deck longer than they intended, but neither of them minded. 

They had somehow gotten on the topic of families. Jack learned that Davey’s great-grandparents immigrated to America from Poland, and that when Davey was younger, and before they died, they would speak Polish around the house. Jack told him that he didn’t know his biological family, but he knew that he was born in New Mexico. Jack also confided that he’s always wanted to go there and see what it was like, but the only thing he could afford to do was travel around the streets on Google Maps.

Davey nudged Jack’s arm, and Jack tore his gaze from the ground back to Davey who wore a smile. He hadn’t realized he had even looked away. He was back in his mind, and he realized why Davey was saying all this stuff, and how Davey had just kissed him-

“I know you like me. I can admit, I don’t know why. I know that I like you. I don’t think anything else matters.”

Jack wanted to believe that, but he also knew that Davey didn’t know everything. Jack tried to gather up all the things he needed to say. Jack felt fingers ghost over his hand before finally settling on top of it. Not really holding, but more holding in place.

“It does matter because you don’t know, and I need you to know.” Jack wanted a relationship with Davey, and he wanted to kiss back and hold his hand and learn everything else there was to know about this boy sitting next to him. “I trust you more than anyone else. And I wish I could just put the information in your head without havin’ to say it, but before there could be an ‘us’, you have to know.”

“Then tell me.” Davey scooched a little closer to Jack. “I’m gonna stay here, and nothing you can tell me will make me leave you on this porch.”

David did mean every word he said. He wouldn’t- couldn’t leave Jack alone on the porch. Not after tonight. Jack  _ liked _ him and said there could be an ‘us’. A prospect had never sounded so exciting before.

David sat there; the silence more comfortable than it was before but still relatively thick. David realized that he said a lot of things he probably wouldn’t have normally said. He noticed a lot of things about a lot of people, but his observations tended to never be spoken aloud. Most of the time he couldn’t really explain everything he knew, like he couldn’t explain how he felt Jack liked him back, but he guessed he had more empirical evidence than he knew, by how much he blabbered. 

David kept his hand on top of Jack’s while he collected the things he wanted to say. He should be more nervous, he felt like he should be nervous, but the feeling that Jack liked him back soothed a lot of the racing thoughts. The thoughts that Jack was gonna tell him whatever was building up in his head.

Jack took a deep breath that would have been comical had the energy surrounding the conversation been different.

“I’m trans.”

The air was quiet for a moment. That wasn’t what David expected to hear, but it was better than ‘I murdered someone, and the body is buried right under our feet’. A lot better actually. If that was Jack’s only reservation in dating, then David knew he- they could get through anything. A small sigh of relief came out.

“Okay.”

Jack stared at him, eyes a little wide, and gaze hardened. That was not the response he expected, but then he didn’t know what response he would have expected. “Okay?”

“Yeah, you’re still the same guy I know.” Davey nodded his head, but then paused. A little more frantic, he mended his statement. “Unless I totally read this wrong and you’re a trans girl?”

“No!” Jack was quick to correct and wrong assumptions, “No, you were right. Trans guy.”

“He/him/his?”

“Yeah,” Jack confirmed.

Davey turned over Jack’s hand, so they were palm to palm, then locked their fingers together with a small squeeze. “Well, I still like guys. I still like  _ you _ . I’m happy that you felt safe enough to tell me but knowing you're trans doesn’t change anything about what I did or what I said.”

A lump came up in Jack’s throat; he didn’t realize that was something he needed to hear. “For sure?”

“For sure.” Davey scooted even closer to Jack, closer than they had been when Davey kissed him. Their arms were touching, and their thighs were grazing each other. He stretched his mile-long legs out into the grass, and Jack copied him. “I said I know you, and I still do. And I guess, from your perspective I actually ‘know’ you. Now, are you still afraid of starting something, or am I allowed to kiss you again?”

Jack barked a laugh at Davey’s boldness- something he didn’t normally possess. With the sarcasm he could muster, Jack replied, “I don’t know. I might have another declaration under my sleeve.”

Davey squeezed Jack’s hand and Jack squeezed back. “Okay. I think I can endure another one if I have something to chase it away.”

Jack knew what that something was, and since Davey took the chance last time, Jack thought it might be his turn. He leaned forward and kissed Davey on the mouth. Instead of it lasting a split second, it lasted a little longer. Both were enjoying that the other was kissing back and the fact that they could do this. It felt like Jack released the tension in his body and he was able to relax. 

Jack pulled away and they just shared each other’s space. Enjoying the moment and the cool breeze around them. Jack was able to breathe fully. Things weren’t going to collapse around him, and things weren’t going to be destroyed because Davey was still there next to him.

Jack heard a vibration and Davey jumped a little and the feeling of it. Out of his back pocket, Davey pulled his phone out, then looking at the notification.

“It’s Sarah. She just finished her shift.” But Davey didn’t make his way to stand up. He just looked back at Jack and squeezed his hand one more time. “You should go back inside before Medda finds out I’ve been defiling her son.”

Jack laughed, but slowly extracted his hand from Davey’s. “You hardly ‘defiled’ me.” 

Davey made a deal out of standing up, releasing a few muted old man noises that Race loved to make fun of. He took a step towards the car parked in Jack’s driveway. “I guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Jack asked, even though he knew it was a dumb question. Tomorrow was a school day, and Davey prided himself on going to school in sickness or in health. They would both arrive at school at different times, but they would hang out with everyone in front of the trophy case before the bell rang, then Davey, Katherine, Sarah and Jack would walk to art class together. Like they did every day since the school year started.

“Yeah. Goodnight Jack.” Davey started walking backwards getting closer to the car he shared with his sister. 

“Night Davey.” Jack stood up but waited to go inside until Davey got in his car and backed out of the driveway. 

When Davey fully cleared the road, Jack opened the storm door and went inside. The living room was empty but as Jack walked into the kitchen, he saw Medda was sitting by the sink on her phone. By the way she held her phone with it in one hand and her pointed finger moving things on the screen, Jack knew she was playing  _ Candy Crush _ on it. 

“Davey just left; he had to pick up his sister from work.” Medda hummed in response. Jack checked the table and saw that she had already cleared all the dishes from it, leaving him with nothing to do for the night for chores.

He went to make his way to his room, but just as he went into the hallway, Medda spoke up. “Jack, honey!” 

Jack poked his head back into the kitchen. She set his phone down on the counter by the sink. She looked him over.

“I really like David.”

Jack could feel the flush creep up his neck, but he didn’t say anything. He just took her in while she gave an all-knowing look. He didn’t know what else to say, so he just walked down the hallway to his room. 

He flopped on his bed and tried to recap all the things that happened in his head. Davey had just come over to keep Jack company until he had to leave to pick up Sarah. He stayed for dinner, and he kissed Jack. He  _ liked _ Jack. And Jack told him he was trans, and he  _ still _ liked Jack. They didn’t even talk about dating or a relationship really, but Jack felt more content than he felt in a while. 

In his head, Jack made plans for the next day. He would get to the trophy case and talk with Albert, Crutchie, Romeo, and Kath, who all arrived at school before he did. Then when Sarah and Davey came from the middle school after dropping Les off, Jack might just take Davey’s hand and walk him to class, even though they had the same one. And he might just convince Davey to share his earbuds so they could listen to music while they work on their assignments. Davey can watch him paint and they could start becoming an ‘us’.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the title is a very small Ring Of Keys reference because of course it is.
> 
> But! I wrote this from the prompt "I trust you more than anyone else." because I was looking to write some Javid for this AU, and this is a scene I've pictured them having, and the prompt matched so, here it is. 
> 
> I can't believe I'm writing stuff from an AU idea I had when I was in high school, but it sparks joy, so I guess I'll keep it up until it doesn't.
> 
> As always, my tumblr is @we-were-both-born-today, so you can find me on there if you want.
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
